Training Tips

What is "hangar rash"? Is it a cosmetic condition, or a syndrome that subverts safety? Hangar rash may be stealthy, occurring in unlikely locations on an airframe. Make sure your preflight inspection includes a careful watch for the dings, dents, and other damage that your trainer could suffer from adverse handling, or even from another aircraft contacting it while being towed or maneuvered by hand nearby. Read more...

Neil Anthony Thomas said he earned his pilot certificate without having met another deaf pilot. In the year or so since he met Todd Barker at Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, he's connected to a community. Read more...

A boy who had waved at airplanes from outside the fence met an airline pilot who waved back, and he later flew in a Piper Archer with AOPA Central Southwest Regional Manager Yasmina Platt. Read more...

Redbird Migration conference set

Redbird Flight Simulations will hold its fifth annual Migration Flight Training Conference Nov. 2 through 4 at the Redbird Skyport at the San Marcos, Texas, Municipal Airport. Conference registration is available online. Redbird's forward-looking ImagineFlight initiative, which seeks to develop and enhance the flight training experience at member organizations' flight schools, arose from a proposal made at the Migration gathering in 2014. It provides participating flight training providers with cooperative marketing, preferred listings in flight school directories, representation and advocacy, and access to resources and business development tools.

ATP Flight School's airline transport pilot certification training program has received FAA approval, the company announced Aug. 21. Read more...

Frasca markets sims in China

Frasca International, a builder of flight simulators based in Illinois, recently announced efforts to expand its presence in China's growing aviation training market, with new orders taken through an authorized representative and a presence planned at upcoming aviation shows in Tianjin and Beijing. Frasca is building a pair of Cessna 172S Level 5 flight training devices for Shandong Hairuo General Aviation, a Cessna dealer in Shandong province. Frasca recently installed a TruFlite R44/S300 convertible FTD at Xilin Fengteng GA Corp. in southwestern China.

AOPA Live

One of the Women Airforce Service Pilots was on hand to see the restoration of a Vultee BT-13 Valiant that will become the first aircraft in the National WASP World War II Museum's collection that was flown by WASPs. Also this week, AOPA's National Aviation Community Center drew a different kind of crowd—about 100 fitness fanatics—for a workout with an "air-obic" twist, and AOPA Editor in Chief Tom Haines reports from Alaska. Watch AOPA Live This Week®, Aug. 27...

Plane Spotter

A Swedish sapphire

Some aircraft, never produced in large numbers, still become niche favorites providing prized opportunities for plane spotters to run up their record of recognized rarities. One such spotting specimen is a three-seat (sometimes four-seat) single-engine trainer from Swedish aerospace company Saab called the Safir (sapphire), designated model 91 and once proposed by a loyalist for inclusion in the AOPA Best Aircraft Showdown. Some 323 of the 1940s-era retractable-gear, low-wing airplanes with distinctively large windscreens and cockpit windows were built and outfitted with a variety of engines turning fixed-pitch or constant-speed propellers.

Training Products and Resources

King Schools FIRC offers elective choices

The King Schools Online Flight Instructor Refresher Course now gives instructors a choice of electives, including teaching the use of tablets in the cockpit, using flight simulation, and teaching icing survival. The course is available for airplane and helicopter CFIs and runs on the iPad and on Web browsers across platforms. It sells for $99 without certificate renewal processing and $124.95 including processing.

Note: Products listed have not been evaluated by ePilot editors unless otherwise noted. AOPA assumes no responsibility for products or services listed or for claims or actions by manufacturers or vendors.

Blogs

It's natural to let your guard down when you're in a comfortable environment. Examples abound: forgetting to turn off the master switch in the FBO's Cessna, forgetting to untie (or tie) the tiedowns, or forgetting to lower the landing gear. Read more...

Instrument Tip

Real Pilot Stories: Vacuum Failure in IMC shows how important it is to be proficient and prepared in the event of an instrument failure during flight in instrument meteorological conditions. As Dr. Donna Wilt can attest, it is crucial to practice partial panel in realistic situations, be resourceful, and know when to declare an emergency and get help from ATC. Watch the video...

Final Exam

Question

Your first student is getting ready to depart for his first solo cross-country. You checked and rechecked that he had all the required endorsements in his logbook. Does he need to have his logbook with him for this flight?

Answer

Yes. Because he is a student pilot, he must carry those endorsements as evidence that he is legal to fly. (Source: FAR 61.51(i)(2).)

Did you know that student pilots who join AOPA are three times more likely to complete their flight training? Membership includes unlimited access to aviation information by phone (800/USA-AOPA, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time) or from Flight Training Online or AOPA Online. Got a question for our technical services staff? Contact AOPA.

Career Opportunities

Cirrus Aircraft is currently seeking a technical training manager to develop, manage, and administer training programs that encourage cooperation and collaboration in achieving overall regulatory compliance and job proficiency. This position will be responsible for Cirrus technical training standards, continual development of technical training programs, and efficiency in technical training at Cirrus Aircraft and will report to the director of organization development. Read the full job description now.

Aviation Calendar

Want something to do this weekend? Planning an aviation getaway? See AOPA's enhanced calendar of events. Now you can filter events by date range, airport ID, state, or region. Before you take off on an adventure, make sure you check our current aviation weather provided by Jeppesen.